Israeli F-16 practices UAV shoot-down technique

The Israeli air force is practising shooting down unmanned air vehicles using cannon fire from its manned fighters. It performed a successful trial involving a Lockheed Martin F-16 on 23 June.

The aircraft downed a target UAV during the intercept drill, using 140 rounds from its M61A1 20mm cannon.

Israel's air force is on high alert to destroy any UAV that may be flown into its territory by militants in the Gaza strip or Lebanon. An F-16 shot down an Iranian-made Ababil air vehicle operated by Hezbollah during fighting on the Israeli-Lebanese border in 2006.

The air force has introduced new sensors that have improved its ability to detect UAVs trying to enter Israeli airspace since a similar incursion in November 2004.